Wireless communication is extraordinarily prevalent in today's society. People use cordless phones, cellular phones, wireless data communication devices, etc. on a daily basis. The ability to communicate wirelessly has become pervasive in homes, businesses, retail establishments, and in the outdoors generally. Consequently, people can now communicate while in transit and in almost any environment.
Wireless communication involves the use of a limited resource: the electromagnetic spectrum. Different wireless communication schemes involve using different bands or segments of the electromagnetic spectrum in different manners. Typically, each particular segment of the electromagnetic spectrum is utilized in accordance with a wireless standard that has been created by a government entity and/or an industry consortium.
There are many wireless standards under which wireless devices operate today. Example wireless standards include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-2000, Wideband-CDMA (WCDMA), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and so forth. Wireless standards that have a marketing-oriented name typically also have a corresponding more technical name for the standard. For example, the term “Wi-Fi” is usually considered to correspond to at least the IEEE 802.11 (a), (b), and (g) standards. Similarly, the term “WiMAX” is usually considered to correspond to at least a subset of the IEEE 802.16 standard.
Because the electromagnetic spectrum is a finite resource, multiple users share the available frequencies in an effectively simultaneous manner. This sharing is managed so as to reduce the interference that jeopardizes electromagnetic communications. Two mechanisms to share the electromagnetic spectrum are to separate users geographically or to separate them temporally. Multiple users may also be separated into different frequencies, different time segments, or into different codes that are spread over a relatively wide band of frequencies. These and other separation or sharing mechanisms may also be combined and simultaneously utilized in a single system.
Creating and enforcing the separation and sharing mechanisms usually involve some level of planning and scheduling. Planning and scheduling can therefore relate to geographical, coding, temporal, and/or frequency mechanisms for separating usage of the electromagnetic spectrum in a manner that effectively manages interference between and among users.
In order to facilitate the sharing of the electromagnetic spectrum in accordance with a user separation mechanism, some entity typically provides planning and/or scheduling so that the selected separation mechanism or mechanisms may be adopted simultaneously by multiple users. When the planning and scheduling is performed by a centralized entity, the planning and scheduling decisions are typically provided wirelessly to the multiple users over the air interface. Unfortunately, existing approaches to planning and scheduling can often result in a disproportionate allocation of spectrum and/or time access among the multiple users and/or an inefficient utilization of the finite electromagnetic spectrum. Existing approaches may also fail to adequately address interference issues.